Built-up inflatable sofa

ABSTRACT

A sofa of the present invention mainly contains a built-up seat frame which can be easily assembled and disassembled, an inflatable seat cushion positioned horizontally on the seat frame, and an inflatable backrest positioned vertically at a side of the seat cushion. The seat cushion and the backrest are basically air bags with air faucets. A user can pump air into or release air from the air bags for an appropriate degree of softness.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to sofas, and more particularly to a built-up sofa whose seat cushion and backrest have inflatable air bags.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

A conventional sofa is mainly constructed by having soft cushion and backrest attached to a fixed frame. The frame usually has a sizable volume and weight, whose transportation and storage, in addition to the inconvenience, both take up quite a lot of space.

The conventional sofa also usually has the cushion and backrest fixedly joined to the frame so that, after a period of usage and some part of the sofa is aged and damaged, the entire sofa has to be replaced or discarded. This is not only cost-ineffective, but also would present an environmental problem of a large number of junked sofas.

Furthermore, the degree of softness of the cushion and backrest is fixed when the sofa is manufactured. A user cannot adjust the softness based on his or her specific requirement. The inflexibility would make the sofa less attractive to some people just because the degree of softness is not right for them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a built-up sofa having inflatable cushion and backrest. The parts of the sofa can be disassembled easily so as to reduce the space requirement and inconvenience in transporting and storing the sofa. The individual parts, on the other hand, can be replaced separately so as to reduce the cost of maintenance and to increase the recycling efficiency. Additionally, the cushion and backrest are mainly inflatable air bags whose degree of softness can be easily adjusted by inflating and deflating the air bags.

To achieve the foregoing features, a sofa of the present invention mainly contains a built-up seat frame which can be easily assembled and disassembled, an inflatable seat cushion positioned horizontally on the seat frame, and an inflatable backrest positioned vertically at a side of the seat cushion. The air faucets of the seat cushion and the backrest allow users to pump air into or release air from the air bags for an appropriate degree of softness.

The foregoing object and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded diagram showing the various components of a sofa according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional diagram showing the sofa of FIG. 1 after its assembly.

FIG. 3 is a perspective diagram showing the sofa of FIG. 1 after its assembly.

FIG. 4 is a perspective diagram showing a sofa according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, an embodiment of the present invention contains a sofa frame 10, an inflatable seat cushion 20 positioned horizontally (relative to the ground) on the sofa frame 10, and an inflatable backrest 30 positioned vertically on the sofa frame 10 at a side of and forming roughly a right angle to the seat cushion 20.

The sofa frame 10 contains two side frames 11 positioned in parallel at two sides of the sofa frame 10. Each of the side frames 11 contains two parallel horizontal beams of equal length and two parallel vertical beams of different length. The two horizontal beams are fixedly interposed between the two vertical beams so as to from a d-like shape. The two side frames 11 are erected and joined together by a pair of parallel first connecting rods 12 and a pair of parallel second connecting rods 17 in between. The two ends of the first connecting rods 12 are joined to the two ends of the lower horizontal beams (not numbered) of side frames 11, respectively, using bolts and nuts that can be unscrewed. Similarly, the two ends of the second connecting rods 17 are joined to appropriate locations along the longer vertical beams (not numbered) of side frames 11, respectively, using bolts and nuts that can be unscrewed. On the opposing surfaces of the side frames 11, two parallel supporting rods 15 are fixedly attached along the upper horizontal beams of the side frames 11, respectively, upon which a supporting plate 16 can be laid detachable and horizontally between the side frames 11.

The inflatable seat cushion 20 mainly contains an air bag 21 having an air faucet 22 wrapped inside a cover member 25. The cover member 25 is made by foam rubber or similar material, which can be further wrapped inside a cover sheet 40 (not shown) made of cloth or leather for protecting and enhancing the appearance of the air bag 21. The inflatable seat cushion 20 is positioned detachable on top of the supporting plate 16.

The inflatable backrest 30 mainly contains an air bag 31 having an air faucet 32 wrapped inside a cover member 35. The cover member 35 is made by foam rubber or similar material, which can be further wrapped inside a cover sheet 40 (not shown) made of cloth or leather for protecting and enhancing the appearance of the air bag 31. The air bag 31 provides a pair of parallel through ducts 33 allowing the second connecting rods 17 to pass through respectively. As such, the inflatable backrest 30 is positioned vertically between the two side frames 11.

The present invention provides a number of advantages. First, the seat frame 10, the seat cushion 20, and the backrest 30 can be assembled and disassembled easily as required. Therefore, the present invention takes up little space during transportation and when stored. Secondly, both the seat cushion 20 and the backrest 30 are designed using inflatable air bags, significantly reducing the weight of the sofa and thereby further making the assembly and transportation easier. Further, by having standardized parts, only damaged parts have to be replaced, effectively reducing the maintenance cost, increasing the recycling efficiency, and achieving better environmental protection. Last but not least, the air faucets 22 and 32 provided on the air bags 21 and 31 allow a user to conduct inflation and deflation to adjust the degree of softness of the sofa to suit the specific requirement, adding more value and competitiveness to the product.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, after the sofa of the present invention is assembled, the entire assembly including the seat frame 10, the seat cushion 20, and the backrest 30 can be covered altogether by a single slipcover 40 made of leather, cloth, suede, or similar material. The outlook of the sofa can be easily changed by using different slipcovers 40.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 

1. A sofa, comprising: a built-up seat frame; a seat cushion having an inflatable air bag with an air faucet, said seat cushion being positioned detachable and horizontally on said seat frame; and a backrest having an inflatable air bag with an air faucet positioned vertically on said seat frame at a side of and forming roughly a right angle to said seat cushion.
 2. The sofa according to claim 1, wherein said seat frame comprises: two side frames positioned in parallel, each of which has two parallel horizontal beams of equal length and two parallel vertical beams of different length, said horizontal beams are interposed at different heights between said vertical beams to form a d-like shape; two parallel first connecting rods whose two ends are joined to the two ends of said lower horizontal beams respectively using bolts and nuts that can be unscrewed; two parallel second connecting rods threading through two through ducts of said backrest, the two ends of said second connecting rods are joined to the appropriate locations along said longer vertical beams respectively using bolts and nuts that can be unscrewed; two parallel supporting rods fixedly attached along said upper horizontal beams respectively; and a supporting plate positioned horizontally and detachably upon said supporting rods and between said side frames.
 3. The sofa according to claim 1, wherein said air bags of said seat cushion and said backrest are wrapped inside cover members respectively.
 4. The sofa according to claim 3, wherein each of said cover members is covered by a cover sheet made of leather or cloth. 